Simu Liu is marking Chinese New Year 2021 by pledging to empower BIPOC creators and strengthening charities.
In his Instagram stories, the Chinese Canadian actor expressed how fortunate and appreciative he has been recently.
“This past year I’ve been unimaginably lucky to have been able to work pretty consistently, and consequently evolve as an artist and human,” Liu begins.
“I filmed an insane movie called Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, wrapped an entire season of Kim’s Convenience, and finished writing We Were Dreamers, a book detailing my family’s journey from Harbin to Hollywood.”
“I fought for a character in a film to be Asian, and succeeded,” he continued, referring to Arthur The King. “We’re shooting that int eh Dominican Republic now.”
“Creatively and financially, I hit every single one of my metrics for success,” the 31-year-old said. “But I’ve also come to realize that that’s not enough.”
Liu then went on to discuss how COVID-19 has impacted the world and how the pandemic has triggered hatred.
“The coronavirus has brought many lingering issues of the world to the fore, as tensions rise between people as we are forced to isolate from our loved ones and friends,” he said.
“It’s not just about anti-Asian racism, which has absolutely spiked and is absolutely not being talked about enough. It’s about losing our ability to empathise with one another, to show patience and love and kindness.”
Liu went on to pledge how he will making changes to bring in the Lunar New Year.
“So in this coming Year of the Ox, my metric for success is going to change. I’m using what small amount of power I now have to uplift the voices of BIPOC writers, directors, filmmakers and creators. I’m implementing inclusion riders for cast and crew in future projects.”
Working with charities will also be one of his main focuses. Last month, Liu donated a Playstation 5 and $1000 to a family who lost their mother to cancer.
“I’ll also be working to strengthen the foundations of our global community through work with charities and nonprofits like UNICEF, or challenging my existing corporate partners to do more with their profits.”
On a more personal level, Liu stated he will adjust his attitude towards news consumption.
“I’m also going to be less reactionary towards tweets and clickbait headlines that are clearly meant to incite outrage and hatred towards one another,” he said.
“Our relationship with the news NEEDS to change; we need to be as passionate about building good things as we are about tearing down bad things.”
Finally, Liu closed his message by saying “hope you all have a happy and safe Year of the Ox! Xing Nian Kuai Le!!”
In related news, Olivia Munn has spoken out about anti-Asian hate crimes amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
